Iran has built a replica of a US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
The Islamic Republic has built a nuclear-powered replica of a US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and is planning to conduct a naval exercise with it, a move Iran had previously attempted five years ago.
According to the Associated Press, satellite images have spotted a mock-up of an Iranian-made aircraft carrier in the waters of the Persian Gulf (Bandar Abbas), which is the US aircraft carrier "Nimitz". The US Navy is constantly in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow route through which a large part of the world's oil exports are carried out. This important political and economic route has long been the scene of international crises and tensions.
Iran has not yet confirmed the news, according to the Associated Press. However, it is suspected that the country is planning to conduct a naval military exercise with it, recreating a possible war scenario with the United States. The news agency cited Iran's naval exercise in 2015 as evidence for this speculation.
Five years ago, Iran built an aircraft carrier with the original dimensions of a US aircraft carrier. In a maneuver conducted with this mock ship, the IRGC's fast boats were able to sink the ship. This was, of course, a claim made by Iranian sources, while American satellites showed the opposite.
The Islamic Republic's naval maneuvers coincided with the 2015 nuclear talks in Vienna. But the message the Islamic Republic conveyed with the maneuvers at the time was that no matter what the outcome of the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1, this regime would not "surrender" to the United States. Now, nothing remains of that agreement, and tensions between the two countries have reached a peak, especially with the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, by the United States in Iraq.
Source: DW
